Protective band for projectiles



PROTECTIVE BAND FOR EROJECTILES Filed Aug. les, 1941 INVENTOR a :tE-'Howard M Dodge 7 F1' .1U BY ATTORNEYS Patented May 9, 1944 UNITED STATES AENT OFFICE PROTECTIVE BAND FOR PROJECTILES Application August 16, 194i, Serial No. 407,1@

(Ci. HB2-l) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvement in protectingbands, and particularly to bands adapted for protecting the riing bands of large caliber projectiles such as shells.

It is an object of the present invention to pro- Vvide a protecting band which is suliiciently rigid to resist local impacts and which is provided with an elastic interior cushion of rubber which is of substantial depth between the relatively rigid portion of the band and the surface of the shell.

A further object of the invention is to provide a band which has a fabric facing covering its inner and side faces, the fabric being so applied to the band that wrinkling of the portions of the fabric overlying the portions of the inner surface r vends f the bands together when the same is placed upon a shell which will permit quick and easy removal of the band from the shell.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention may be said to comprise a shell protector band as illustrated in the accompanying drawing hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims, together with such variations of modifications as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a 'side elevation of a band embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the ends of the band fastened together;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on a line indicated at 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line indicated at 4 4 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the method of applying the fabric covering to the band stock;

Fig. 6 is a section taken at a line indicated at 6-5 in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a slightly modified construction;

Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line indicated at 3-8 in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of a modified forni of fastener;

Fig. l0 is a section on an enlarged scale taken on the line indicated at IES-l! in Fig. 9;

Fig. ll is a fragmentary side elevation showing another form of fastener; and

Fig. l2 is a top plan View of the fastener shown in Fig. 1l.

The protective band of the present invention is a one-piece transversely split band which has a substantially cylindrical sheet metal stifi'ening ring l, preferably formed of cold rolled steel strip, which has edge portions 2 Ibent back against the body of the ring to provide stiffening beads at the side edges thereof. The ring I with the doubled edge portions 2 is relatively stiff but has a modulus of elasticity such that it is not stressed beyond its elastic limit when the ends of the band are spread apart to place the band upon a projectile. This stii'ening ring i is embedded in a body of rubber 3 which is preferably vulcanized to the ring. If desired, the ring l may be provided with apertures l suitabh7 spaced throughout the length thereof to provide an integral union between the rubber upon the interior and exterior faces of the ring. The width of the stiffening ring I is but slightly less than that of the band and resists local deformation of the band by impacts against the yband while the projectile is being transported and stored prior to use. The rubber upon the inner face of the band is formed to provide cushioning ribs 5 of substantial depth within the stiff edge portions 2 of the ring l, the ribs 5 serving to cushion impacts and prevent damage to the riding band by heavy impacts against the stiff edges of the ring. The rubber upon the outer surface of the band is provided with ribs 6 which serve as buffers. The interior projectile engaging surface of the band and the side edges of the band are preferably covered with a suitable fabric 'I which is preferably a soft nap fabric. The fabric 'l is applied in strip forni and has edge portions 8 folded over the marginal edges of the outer face of the band.

Since the fabric l extends over surfaces of different diameters, it is desirable that the fabric be applied in such a way as to avoid wrinkling of the fabric upon the surfaces of least diameter. The fabric is preferably applied to the band stock before the stock is rolled to annular form and in applying the fabric, the fabric is held under tension while it is pressed against the surface of the band stock by rollers which hold the portion of the band stock to which the fabric strip is applied to a curvature substantially corresponding to the curvature in the finished band and subsequently stitching the edge portions of the fabric strip over the side edges of the band stock. As shown in Fig. 5, a strip of fabric 1 is fed from a fabric roll 9 and with a strip of band stock between a pair of squeeze rolls Ill and II which have surfaces conforming to the opposite faces of the band stock. In passing between the rolls, the fabric and band stock are bent over the upper roll I so as to apply the fabric to the face of the band stock While the band stock is held substantially to the curvature which it has in the finished band. Immediately to the rear of the squeeze rolls I0 and II stitcher plates I2 and I3 are provided along the edges of the band which fold the edges of the fabric around the edges of the band stock. After applying the fabric, the band stock is rolled to annular form to provide a transversely split band, such as shown in Fig. 1. The fabric is held under tension and is stretched while it is being applied to the Iband stock between the rolls I0 and II so that when the band is bent to circular form, the portion of the fabric upon the interior face of the band lies smoothly upon the surface of the rubber after the band is bent to circular form.

A slightly modified construction is shown in Figs. 7 and 8 in which the cushioning ribs 5 are provided with an interior surface I4 of corrugated form. This rib construction increases the resiliency of the ribs and provides a softer cushion. In applying the band to a projectile, the band is slipped over the projectile to the desired position and is then secured in place by fastening the ends together. A simple and'convenient fastening device is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 which consists of a strip of adhesive tape I5 provided with a layer of rubber cement or other suitable adhesive material I6 on the inner face thereof. One end of the tape I4 is attached to one end of the band at the time of the manufacture and the other end of the tape is left free for application to the opposite end of the band when the band is applied to a shell. The free end of the tape I5 is preferably doubled back upon itself to provide a tab II which may be gripped to strip the tape and release the band prior to firing the projectile. In order to protect the adhesive surface of the tape prior to application of the band to a projectile, a protective covering of suitable material such as Holland cloth I8 is applied to the adhesive surface of the free end of the tape. The protective covering preferably has a tab I9 at its inner end which extends into the space between the ends of the band and a tab at its outer end by means of which the cover I8 can be readily stripped from the tape.

Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawing show a modified form of fastener in which one end of the sheet metal ring I is provided with a projecting tab 2| provided with a transverse slot 22, and the opposite end of the metal ring is provided with a projecting tab 23 of a` width to enter the slot 22. band stock is cut to length for forming the band.

The tabs 2| and 23 are formed when the The rubber is removed from both faces of the tab 23 and from the inner face only of the Wider tab 2I. The tab 2I is bent to t upon the exterior of the end of the band to which the tab 23 is attached, and the tab 23 is bent outwardly so that it can be inserted through the slot 22 of the tab 2l. By inserting the tab 23 through the slot 22 and bending it back against the face of the tab 2 I, the ends of the band may be drawn tightly together. The external ribs 6 of rubber extend to the outer end of the tab 2l and the tab 23 is narrow enough to permit of its being bent back flat against the outer surface of the tab 2l between the ribs 6. The tab 23 can be readily bent back to a substantially radial position to permit removal of the band from a projectile.

In Figs. 11 and 12 of the drawing another form of fastener which may be used is illustrated. In this modification the ends of the band are provided with centrally disposed grommets 24 through which a string 25 is threaded. By drawing string 25 tight and tying it, the band is held in place.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specific devices herein shown and described for purposes of illustration, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A removable band for protecting shells or the like comprising a substantially cylindrical transversely split reinforcing ring of sheet metal which extends nearly the full width of the band, an elastic rubber body covering said reinforcing ring interiorly and exteriorly, said rubber body being formed to provide inwardly projecting shell engaging cushioning ribs composed entirely of elastic rubber interiorly of the side edge portions of the sheet metal ring, the shell engaging edges of said cushioning ribs being corrugated.

2. A removable band for protecting shells or the like comprising a substantially cylindrical transversely split reinforcing ring of sheet metal which extends nearly the full width of the band, a rubber body covering said reinforcing ring interiorly and exteriorly, and integral projecting tabs on the ends of said reinforcing ring, one of said tabs being bent to lie upon the exterior of the end of the band opposite that to which it is attached and having a transverse slot, the other tab being adapted to be inserted through said slot and bent back to hold the ends of the band together.

3. A removable band for protecting shells or the like comprising a substantially cylindrical transversely split reinforcing ring of sheet metal which extends nearly the full width of the band, a rubber body covering said reinforcing ring interiorly and exteriorly, and integral projecting tabs on the ends of said reinforcing ring, one of said tabs being bent to lie upon the exterior of the end of the band opposite that to which it is attached and having a transverse slot, the

' other tab being adapted to be inserted through said slot and bent back to hold the ends of the band together, said first mentioned tab having a covering of rubber on its outer face formed to provide a central channel to receive the other tab.

HOWARD M. DODGE. 

